KAOHSIUNG, September 21, 2018
Two former top 10-players headlined Friday’s quarterfinals at the OEC Open, as the No. 1 seed of the $150,000 ATP Challenger event, Gael Monfils, beat the tournament’s No. 7 Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 7-6(4), 6-2.
Monfils saved both break points he faced, converting two of his own to prevail after one hour and 19 minutes. It was the third win for the 32-year-old Frenchman in as many meetings between the two. Next up for Monfils will be Duckhee Lee of South Korea, who beat Frederico Ferreira Silva from Portugal 6-2, 7-5 in one hour and 19 minutes.
The battle of former Top 10 stars did not disappoint in Kaohsiung, as @Gael_Monfils and Ernests Gulbis rolled back the ⏰ in a QF clash. pic.twitter.com/mbJZ5XvxJl
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) 21. September 2018
Earlier in the day, Malek Jaziri battled past Austrian teenager Jurij Rodionov 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-4. The No. 2 seed from Tunisia withstood 12 aces, breaking his 19-year-old opponent four times to prevail after two hours and eight minutes. Jaziri will next play Soonwoo Kwon. The 20-year-old qualifier from South Korea beat Brayden Schnur of Canada 6-3, 6-4. The encounter lasted one hour and 34 minutes.
